First Contact War: 2021
by Kspence92
Summary: What if Humanity's First Contact War had not been fought with the Turian Hierarchy? What if we were discovered first and by a race even more bloodthirsty? In June 2021, the Batarians arrived at Earth and meet a woefully unprepared humanity...
1. Discovery

"I'm getting too old for this shit." Richard Samuels said to himself as he leaned back in his chair in the Oval Office. The 46th President of the United States still maintained a full head of black hair , but he suspected the grey would start to creep in soon . He was approaching forty five years of age after all. Presidents did not age well.

He had been on the phone to the Russian Foreign Minister for the best part of an hour and was getting nowhere in regards to the latest plan for a ceasefire in Syria. The war there had dragged on for ten years and there was still no end in sight.

"Listen Sergei, the administration's position remains unchanged. You end all support for the Assad regime, and we will end all support for the Syrian opposition. It's the only way to get both sides to the negotiating table. Tell Vladimir I won't compromise on this. I don't care what Donald said about it, I'm President now not him."

There was a sudden knock on the Oval Office door. Without waiting for an answer a figure walked in holding a folder full of papers. Steven Lamb, the National Security Adviser had entered the room.

The President sighed, he knew he wouldn't be interupted on such an important call without good reason.

"Sergei I will arrange another call with you tomorrow, I have a meeting to attend. Goodbye Foreign Minister." Richard said hanging up the phone.

"How bad?" Richard asked the National Security Adviser. The short bald man took a deep breath before handing the folder in his and over to the President.

"Last night NASA reported that a possible comet had impacted Charon, Pluto's moon. In the last hour these photos were sent back from the Hubble of the aftermath of the impact." Steve said. He looked nervous.

The President looked at the photos showing Charon before the impact and another one shortly after the impact and one more taken several hours after last one was what took him by surprise. Where Charon had been there was now a massive metallic object that looked vaguely similar to a set of kitchen tongs with a blue light surrounded by spinning metal hoops.

"Steve, what am I looking at ?" Richard said scratching his head.

"When the comet hit Charon, it shattered the moon and this...thing...was left in its place. Charon was never a moon..." at that, the National Security Adviser started to struggle for words .

"So what the hell is it?" Richard said in irritation. He hated when people don't get to the point

. "It's uh...It appears to be an ancient alien construction that had been encased in ice. There is no sign of the comet that struck it, which has baffled NASA as it's the only theory they currently have on why Charon suddenly shattered." Steve responded.

"So there's an alien spaceship sitting next to Pluto ?" The President said , struggling to take in what he was hearing. Was this some kind of joke?

"NASA doesn't know what it is, but they don't think it's a spacecraft. They think it has another purpose. Perhaps an observation post that have long since been abandoned. What the real worry is is that clearly it was there to observe humanity. I think we need to study this object and learn more about whoever created it. Obviously that will require a massive undertaking to physically reach the object which means pumping billions of dollars into NASA. "

The President thought it through for a moment "We will need to brief the House and the Senate if we want the additional funding. The real question is do we tell the public ?"

"Thus far only senior officials at NASA know about it. The Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense are being briefed as we speak. Other than that this information is highly classified . I think we should hold back on telling the public at least until we know more about..."

The National Security Adviser felt a vibration in his pocket as his government issue blackberry started to ring. He frowned as he took it out to check the number. The Administrator of NASA. He answered and put the phone on loudspeaker .

"Administrator Deacon, you are on with the President." Steve said.

"I'll cut straight to the chase. We just received more images back from the Hubble. There are now several dozen spacecraft next to the alien object. There are different types of craft of different sizes. Some look around the size of a jumbo jet, others are over a mile in length. So far they are remaining stationary next to the where Charon had been. Its now vital we begin preparations for a first contact scenario ."

The President closed his eyes and rubbed his head. Was this a dream?

"So, do you think they are hostile ?" Richard asked knowing full well it was impossible to know the answer at this stage. He found talking difficult. His mouth was dry. This was such a surreal situation. He had always been a big sci fi fan but never in a millions years believed he would be at the forefront of humanitys first contact with Alien life.

"Well Mr President, allow me to answer your question by asking another. When you go to greet your neighbours for the first time after moving to a new house, do you take your extended family, friends and work colleagues along in a huge fleet of vehicles ?"

It was a rhetorical question. The President knew where he was going with this.

"Of course you don't." The NASA administrator answered his own question. Now I can't obviously speak for these beings, for all we know showing up in a huge armada is their idea of peace, but from a human standpoint this is a show of force. I think we need to prepare for the worst."

"I see," Richard said at a loss for words. "Keep me updated."

"Will do, sir."

The President turned to the National Security Adviser.

"Convene the National Security Council in an hour from now, we need to discuss our options for defending the county in the event things get ugly.. I also want you to contact the heads of NATO states as well as the Russians and let them know what's going on. We should address the UN General Assembly tomorrow and let the nation's of the world know so they can prepare . We should form a united front in the event the aliens are hostile. Absolutely no leaks to the public , I want to keep the lid on this until we know more about them . The last thing we need is a mass panic."

"Yes Mr President." The National Security Adviser said as he exited the Oval Office to make the necessary arrangements.

"Damn, I need a drink." Richard said to himself once he was alone in the Oval with just his thoughts for company.


	2. Discovery Part 2

Activating a dormant mass relay was strictly against Council law. This however, was irrelevant to Admiral Kolshek of the 6th Batarian Scout Fleet, as his forces were not bound by the laws of the Citadel Council.

"Pompous bastards." The Batarian admiral muttered under his breath.

"Pardon me, sir?" Captain Shirkol, his second in command asked , looking up from his console.

"Nothing Captain." The admiral replied with a sigh as he looked out at the newly activated relay. After a scandal that involved the daughter of a senior official in the Hegenomys Military Affairs Department, the admiral had lost the command of the 1st Fleet of the Hegenomy Navy. A crushing humiliation. Still, he had at least kept his rank but been forced to accept command of a small scouting fleet . He was determined to get back his prestige. Perhaps finding a new garden world to colonise might just earn him that.

The HNS Paliter was nothing more than a large cruiser, leading a force of a dozen smaller vessels, mostly transports.

"Prepare to enter the Relay. Let's see what spoils await us on the other side." announced Kolshek.

"Yes, admiral." Shirkol responded. Within moments, the fleet had safely passed through the new relay, and into a new planetary system.

"Activating scanning now, admiral." Shirkol said after the fleet came out on the other side.

"This had better be worth it. I won't be made to look a fool again !" Kolshek said bitterly. He had suffered enough embarrassment.

"Scans show eight planets in the system, and five dwarf planets. One star. No signs of any kind of life on the nearest planets but there's something coming through...hold on...detecting a garden world !" The captain said excitedly, before forcing himself to calm down. The admiral didn't like his juniors being too excitable.

"Signs of life?" Kolshek asked, thanking the gods this may not have been a wasted journey after all.

"Ah...oh wow. We have radio signals sir!" A junior officer called over from a console.

"Directed at us?"

"It doesn't appear so, no. They may not know we are here." The junior officer responded.

"Given that they haven't discovered the relay, their technology cannot be that advanced. I would bet they have no idea we are even in the system. I shall call Khar'Shan and ask for addition support to seize this garden world for the Hegemony. I did not anticipate having to engage an advanced, or at least semi-advanced race on their home planet. We can restore some lost glory to our empire !" Kolshek yelled banging his fists on the table. They may be advanced enough to have radio, but if they haven't even reached into their own planetary system, then a weak race they must be, the admiral thought.

"Perhaps we should try and contact this new race first? They may be more beneficial as trade partners than..." Captain Shirkol did not bother finishing his sentence, instead retreating back several steps from his boss as he glared at him.

"You sound like an Asari ! You spent too long studying on Thessia before they kicked us out of Citadel space." Kolshek raged.

"I mean no disrespect sir, it's just..."

"I'll call on your opinion if and when it's required. Now follow orders like a good subordinate. Send a probe to this garden world. We will find out what we are getting into before we take their planet." Koshek ordered.

Shirkol wasn't used to being spoken down to in such a humiliating fashion in front of his subordinates. He wished the admiral would get reassigned again or retire but neither looked like In the near future. Despite all the things Shirkol wanted to say, he simply grumbled "yes, sir."

"Excellent," the admiral beamed "now, let's take over a planet!" Before adding "For the Hegemony!"

"For the Hegemony!" The crew roared back.


	3. All the Presidents Men

Richard was chairing an emergency session of the National Security Council in the White House Situation Room, the high tech command centre where the U.S. Leadership handled all major crises from.

Present in in the room were :

The Vice President Erin James, the first female VP and former Senator from Ohio.

Secretary of Defense James Dawkins

Secretary of Homeland Security Harry Clarke

Secretary of State John Mackie.

The National Security Adviser Stephen Lamb, a former U.S. Army Lieutenant General.

White House Chief of Staff Cathy Simons.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff

It had been four hours since the President had been informed humanity was not alone in the universe but it hasn't sunk in.

The Joint Chiefs unanimously agreed that they believed the aliens would be hostile judging by the size of their fleet. The Secretary of State was arguing they must be peaceful based on the fact they must clearly be a highly advanced civilisation to cross the stars. Most people were still shaking their heads in disbelief.

"Ok,let's go over what we actually do know." The President said rubbing his head. He wished he had an aspirin . "Plutos moon was actually some kind of space transportation device that suddenly come to life followed shortly afterwards by an alien fleet of several dozen vessels entering our Solar system. We don't know anything else so we can't jump to conclusion. What we can do is prepare for the worst. For that I turn to you, General." The President gestured to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Michael Arhnem.

"Believe it or not, sir, the Pentagon has actually planned and war gamed this scenario many times since the 50's . Most of those war games ended in defeat for our forces unfortunately. So currently we have no weapons in orbit but we can look at bringing the old shuttles out of retirement and arming them as well as arming the ISS. How effective they would be is up for debate and in doing so would violate several international treaties. We do have a massive nuclear arsenal as you know, which would at least in theory present a serious threat to anyone trying to enter Earth orbit. Of course that opens us up to retaliation with the aliens own WMDs. Again theoretically since we simply don't know their phycology therefor it's impossible to know their reactions." The General said then leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly before going on "To be honest given their tech they could easily just throw asteroids at us from space or genetically engineer a plague to wipe us out and we would be defenseles against that."

"I think we speed to start mobilising our forces ASAP Mr President, and at least in the mean time upgrade to DEFCON 3, and possibly DEFCON 2 if these ships move closer." The Secretary of Defense spoke up, still hoping this was a dream.

"You may be right James, but I don't want to spark a panic. The public can't know for the time being. Luckily the FBI have closed all observatories that can see the ships with law enforcement in other countries doing the same. But it will eventually leak no doubt. Nevertheless we need to keep this quiet as long as possible." Richard said as his headache got worse. The weight of the world was on his shoulders. Literally.

"We can simply spin our mobilisation as a military exercise. That may work for a while. It's going to be essential we have a massively increased military budget and begin buying and building new equipment, particularly fighter jets and surface to air missiles in particular. We also need a recruitment drive. The more personnel we have in all military branches the better. I also think any and all new UFO reports from the public need to be seriously looked into. It's likely they will send either scouting ships or probes to do some recon of our planet first. We need to know if they are monitoring us,especially if any sightings occur over or near military bases." General Arnhem responded, then concluded with "We also have to prepare for the possibly the enemy will defeat us in conventional warfare in which case we will have to go underground and wage a guerrilla war against them. No matter what, we will never surrender Mr President."

That hit the President hard. The thought that America could end up an occupied nation.

"I'll make sure Congress is briefed and made to sign a non disclosure agreement then we can put a military spending bill through Congress without much if any opposition." Richard said. "You'll get all the money and equipment you need General. Let's just hope those ships stay where they are a while longer. We need time to prepare. Perhaps they don't know we have seen them yet so they themselves feel they can sit back for a bit and prepare for the invasion, assuming of course that is their intention."

"God help us if they are hostile." The Chairman said, more to himself than anyone else. "God help us all."


	4. Scouting

The 6th Scout Fleet waited patiently on the other side of the Mass Relay, awaiting the supporting invasion fleet on its way from Khar'shan. If all went well the invasion of the new garden world could go ahead in three months time.

It had been seven rotations of the new garden world since they had opened the relay and the probes had brought back some interesting information. The native sentient species seemed highly advanced for a non spacefaring race (to Kolshek, one pathetic space station and some communications satellites did not make a race spacefaring) . They had massive cities and impressive infrastructure in some areas of the planet, thought bafflingly other areas of the planet made do with hovels and dirt roads and people actually defecating on the street ! Information gleamed from hacking into their local extranet provided the majority of the intelligence on their capabilities. A website called "Wikipedia" bizarrely had information on local troop numbers and what kinds of equipment they had and in what numbers and condition. Any sane race would have that information classified. From that they also learned which nations were nuclear armed. The admiral made a mental note that the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, China, India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea would be hit in the opening blows due to their possession of these threatening weapons.

Information gained from hacking into their satellite network was initially confusing and even terrifying for the Hegemony forces who stumbled upon reruns of Star Trek, thinking that the humans somehow had far more advanced tech than previously believed, until one junior technician pointed out it was likely just a movie. Other things found from their fairly limited version of the extranet including what looked like mating instruction videos apparently called "porn" , some of which were particularly vulgar, even to a Batarian. This was a very confusing species to say the least.

The Intelligence Officers had used the new translation software stolen from the Salarians to learn the primary human languages which had helped immensely.

"So they are nuclear armed." Kolshek said thoughtfully. "Though given that their cities are not radioactive waste dumps they are not as trigger happy with these weapons as the Krogan. Perhaps they understand how deadly using them would be to their Eco system and infrastructure. I doubt they will deploy these weapons against us. Why destroy their own planet?"

Shirkol, his second in command said nothing. He was worried the humans would destroy their home planet rather than lose it and become slaves. But the admiral didn't take well to people with opposing views.

"Their planet seems largely at peace for the most part. There are some localised conflicts, including some particularly nasty ones in Syria , Iraq and South Sudan, I believe the local names are. Luckily for the most part their strongest nations are at peace therefor we can hopefully occupy them before they can mobilise." The admiral said smugly. "The fact they are not organised under one planetary government should be a boost to us. Perhaps we can somehow exploit those divisions?"

"Sir, who's to say they are not already mobilising? We cannot be sure they have not seen us yet. Perhaps it's best to send a quick strike force to degrade their capabilities whilst we wait on the main invasion fleet arriving ?" Captain Shirkol replied warily, hoping not to incur to much wrath .

"This pathetic species haven't even colonised their own moon. What makes you think they will be able to see this far into their system? Trust me Captain, we have more than enough time to prepare." The admiral boomed happily. He was confident in a crushing victory over what looked like oversized pyjaks.


	5. Announcement

The President stared blankly at the clear blue sky outside the Oval Office window. Today was the day the Human race found out we were not alone in the universe. It had been three months since the alien ships had appeared in be solar system and keeping a lid on the leaks was getting tricky.

Stephen Lamb stood in the room beside him. The National Security Adviser had urged the President not to make the aliens public, but in the end the President was getting his way.

"It's for the best Steve." Richard said, still eyeing the cloudless sky. "The people have a right to know. We've kept it hidden far too long. Besides, it's only a matter of times before it leaks out to the press."

"I guess so, sir." Steve replied, not entirely convinced. He was worried about a mass panic breaking out. Nevertheless the President had a point. It was simply too big to hide anymore. Operation Defiant Eagle - the covert mass mobilisation of the U.S. Military under the guise of a large military exercise - had gone to plan and the public hadn't taken too much notice. But the press had and they were asking questions. Questions that the government had been struggling to answer. Nonetheless Operation Defiant Eagle had placed the United States Armed Forces in about as a good a position they could be in in the event the aliens were hostile. All leave within all military branches had been cancelled and reservists called back into action whilst military personnel and equipment had been deployed in major cities and around strategic and sensitive sites nationwide. Even the White House had a doubled the number of Secret Service agents on duty. Masses of new weapons and military vehicles were rolling off assembly lines whilst mothballed older equipment some of it dating back to the Vietnam War was brought back into service "just in case". In other counties, military mobilisations had also begun with their people being told it was all an exercise. Many people in the press and online blogs genuinely believed World War 3 was on the horizon with all the sudden global military movements.

So far nobody had broadcast any direct messages to the aliens for fear that if they were here for hostile purposes they would have to accelerate their invasion plans if they knew we could see them therefor robbing humanity of precious days and weeks to prepare.

"I've told the state governors to place their national guard units on standby in deal with any civil unrest that results from the announcement. There's no way we can predict how people will react. The fact is we are facing a complete unknown here. Totally uncharted waters." Richard said finally turning away from the window his communications director entered the room.

"Mr President, they're ready for you now."

"Thank you Chelsea,'ill be there momentarily." He took a deep breath as he straightened up his tie and made the short journey to the White House Press Room. He wished more than anything his wife Eliza was still here with him, but even the most powerful man on Earth can't cure cancer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States." The Press Secretary announced, moving away from the podium to allow the President access. The flashes from the hundred or so cameras near blinded him. He hated dealing with the press. They could be an indispensable asset, or formidable enemy to a politician. You just had to know how to play them.

"My fellow Americans, and people of the world " he began "for millennia , mankind has gazed at the night sky and wondered, is there anyone else out there ? We have looked at the stars and asked if anyone was looking back. Today , I can tell the world that the stars have been looking back." That met with a few audible gasps in the press pool. Everyone knew what was coming next, even if they couldn't believe it. "Humanity is not alone in the universe. Three months ago, as many of you know, Pluto's moon Charon was apparently shattered by an unexpected comet impact. We now know that Charon was not actually a moon, but rather an ancient alien structure that had lay dormant for millennia and become covered in ice. Shortly after the structure activated, a fleet of spacecraft of unknown origin appeared in our solar system next to Pluto. So far, they have not attempted to make contact with us. I urge everyone watching this broadcast to please keep an open mind and not to panic. There has been no indication that this race has any hostile intentions. Nonetheless our armed forces have been placed on high alert and are prepared for any eventuality. We hope and will strive for a peaceful first contact with these new visitors to our solar system. Today, none of us are Americans. Today, we are all one family, united under one name : humanity. On this most historic of days we are..."

And then suddenly the President felt his arms being dragged. Two secret service agents had grabbed him and were hauling him out the room whilst reporters screeched questions at him.

"We have Dark Eyes on the move to Site 1, say again Dark Eyes on the move to Site 1, prepare to receive the package." One of the agents said into a radio.

"What in fucks name are you doing ? " the president demanded angrily as the two agents manhandled him towards the White House bunker. The worlds media has just seen him getting rushed to safety as he disclosed the truth about the existence of aliens. There would be a panic !

"The Administrator of NASA said there is an urgent threat and that we had to get you moving." The second agent said as they descended a stair well towards a large blast door.

"What kind of threat ?" Richard asked annoyed. His mouth felt dry. He was shaking. He needed to know what was happening.

"The spaceships sitting next to Pluto suddenly...um...disappeared. They have reason to believe they are speeding straight towards Earth. I'm no astrophysicist so I don't understand the technical details but they have reason to believe the aliens are coming straight to Earth." The young agent said. He sounded like he didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. Richard couldn't blame him though, this was no doubt the first he had heard about aliens too. Up until a few moments earlier the only people in the know were world leaders and their top advisers . Now the world knew aliens existed...and the world had also seen the President of the United States being dragged away to safety.


	6. Opening salvos

The 6th Batarian Scout Fleet, now supplemented by a dozens of new vessels that included destroyers, cruisers and massive troop carriers and smaller support ships had now made the jump from Pluto to Earth, where they remained in orbit around the planet.

"The Humans are panicking." Shirkol said, watching one of the monitors that showed the latest live feed from CNN. Human satellite networks had been rather easy to hack into. Human civilians were ransacking food stores whilst their law enforcement struggled to cope.

"This is obviously their first contact. They have no idea what to expect." Said Kolshek with a smile. "They're like children."

"Interesting that they rushed their leader away so quickly during their press conference. From what we can tell that was during our jump from Pluto to Earth, which can only mean one thing." Shirkol said, rubbing his chin.

"The Humans had been watching us." Kolshek said, finishing his subordinates sentence. "They saw we were no longer near the Relay and assumed we were heading for their home world. Perhaps they have known about us longer than we thought. Still, it matters not, since they're primitive they can pose no serious threat."

"What about their nuclear missiles sir?" Shirkol asked, bowing his head. Anything even vaguely sounding as borderline criticism was not tolerated.

"Their missiles are primitive just like them. We will swat them from the sky if they launch them." The admiral said as though he was addressing an infant. Shirkol did not mention that perhaps the humans have more missiles than thought, and enough that could get through their defenses and threaten the fleet. He had already had the audacity to question his commander once today. He daren't push his luck.

One of the monitors on the bridge showed a fleet of Human military vehicles on the move somewhere in a country the locals called "United Kingdom".

"They're mobilising, sir." Shirkol said.

"If they have known about us since we arrived I suspect they have already mobilised more forces than we initially anticipated. Their weapons are centuries behind ours. They will be swept aside in an instant. That's assuming they even try to fight us."

"What are your order, sir ?"

"We will cow them into submission hopefully without killing too many of them. The more slaves we can take the better. Their men will make useful mine workers and warrior slaves, perhaps even mercenaries one day, their women can...meet other needs. I want to keep their planetary communications intact so they can see our power. We will not disable their satellites just yet. I've already drawn up a list to targets to hit in the opening wave." Kolshek brought up his omni tool which showed several landmarks across the world. "This is phase one." Kolshek explained. Some were government buildings, others merely monuments. The list included the following :

. The Statue of Liberty, New York City

. The Empire State Building , New York City

. The Palace of Westminster, London

. Buckingham Palace, London

. The U.S. Capitol , Washington DC

. Mount Rushmore, USA

. CN Tower, Toronto

. The Eiffel Tower, Paris

. The Louvre, Paris

. The Reichstag, Berlin

. The Vatican, Rome

. The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

. The Grand Mosque, Mecca

. The Taj Mahal, India

. The Sydney Opera House, Sydney

. The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

. The Imperial Palace, Tokyo

. Christ the Redeemer, Rio De Janeiro

. Hagia Sofia, Istanbul

. Forbidden City, Beijing

. The Kremlin, Moscow

. The Acropolis, Athens

. The Hoover Dam, USA

Shirkol was simply stunned. Did his boss simply plan to obliterate tourist attractions?

"Sir, um, there are no military bases and almost no major government buildings on this list." Shirkol said, attempting to keep calm.

"Relax Captain. If possible I would like to keep their military infrastructure intact as much as possible. Even if primitive perhaps some of it may be useful to us. The idea here is simply to destroy their culture, identity and history. Their landmarks will burns whilst the whole world watches. Their cowering governments will see our power and promptly surrender."

Shirkol stared at the admiral in horror "we will lose the element of surprise! Come to think of it we have already lost the element of surprise. We need to hit their military now before they can strike us in orbit. We need to degrade their forces on the ground before we can land and..."

"Watch yourself Captain." Kolshek hissed "I am in command and I know what I am doing."

"Yes sir." Shirkol replied stiffening up. He wanted to punch the admiral but all that would get is a one way ticket out of the airlock.

"Attention all ships." Kolshek said into a speaker "today, the Batarian Hegemony conquers a new world and an entire species. May the gods be proud of us !"

"Your recording is ready sir, shall I play it?" The Communications Officer on the bridge asked.

"Yes, play it. Let's watch the humans cower after this." The admiral smiled sadistically. The video had been translated into English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and several other major languages. The human civilian satellite networks that had been hacked into would now carry the admirals first contact message to the people of Earth.

All around the world, men, women and children gathered around television sets , phones and computers to watch the menacing looking, four eyed alien address humanity. Those who had hoped for peaceful first contact , and perhaps a new golden age for humanity were left dejected.

"Humans of Earth, I am Admiral Kolshek of the Grand Navy of the Batarian Hegemony. Today, what is yours will become ours. Today, you will surrender your freedom. Today, you will become part of the Hegemony. There is no other option. There will be no negotiation. Surrender. Or die. Fly a white flag from your United Nations building in New York within the next 24 hours to signify your willingness to surrender or we will crush your home world in a display of fire that will make your Second World War look like a school yard quarrel."

And which that, the message ended. And the panic began.

"Activate Phase One." The admiral ordered. With that, several ships opened fire on mans most precious constructions.

...

200 feet below the West Wing of the White House, President Richard Samuels stared in horror at the TV screen in front of him. He was suddenly very numb. The aliens message had just ended and CNN was back on, the news anchors perplexed at how the aliens hacked into their network and indeed most others ones on the planet.

In the White House bunker with the President was his National Security Adviser Steve Lamb, the Secretary of Defense and a handful of support staff. Other senior officials were now on their way

"Mr President, what are your orders, sir?" One of the aides asked. A young man in the 20, a military attaché from the Air Force.

Richard tried to find words, but they wouldn't come to him. He never dreamed he would be this position.

"Is this a dream ?" He asked. More to himself than anyone else.

"Sir, your orders?" The young officer repeated, more forcefully this time. The President snapped back to reality.

"We won't surrender. No white flag will be raised above the UN building. Tell the Pentagon we are upgrading to DEFCON 1." Richard said shakily.

"Yes sir, right away." The Air Force officer said dutifully.

Richard sank back in his chair and turned his attention back to the TV again.

"...once again, for those of you just joining us here at CNN, a truly terrifying and historic day is upon us. The aliens message is clear :surrender or die. There has been no word from the White House since the President was rushed off stage during a press conference just over an hour ago however an emergency session of Congress is underway." The blonde female reporter said, gesturing to the Capitol Building behind her. "Something seems to be happening. Capitol Police are escorting members of Congress out of the building. I'm being told now that Congress is being evacuated as a precaution..."

Before she could say anything else, the famous dome on the Capitol exploded, with rest of the building disintegrating moments later. Dozens, if not hundreds of Congressmen, Senators and police officers died in an instant.

"What the fuck was that !" The President stood up and shouted at the TV.

"Confirmation from NORAD sir. The aliens have opened fire with some new type of weapon. They're falling all over the planet. Australia and China both confirmed hits,more inbound for Europe and the U.S. Eastern seaboard. New York is also a confirmed hit." The Air Force Officer added. Lieutenant Small his name was the President noted. "Sir, the nation is under attack. What are your orders ?"

"Strike back." The President said defiantly.


	7. Returning Fire

The U.S. military had mobilised everything they could in preparation for a potential alien invasion in the weeks following the realisation we were not alone.

The space shuttles Atlantis, Endeavour and Discovery has been armed with powerful, conventional missiles as had the International Space Station, much to the anger of NASA, but the Department of Defense had overruled their concerns. How much use they would be in defending Earth was anyone's guess, but nobody expected much.

The President stared at the monitor in front of him which showed a live feed from the Discovery. The alien ships looked vastly more powerful than their puny human counterparts. The aliens had ceased fire for the moment, likely waiting on humanity replying to their surrender demand. They appeared indifferent to the armed space shuttles. Perhaps they didn't consider them worth firing upon.

"Fire at will." Richard ordered the Commanders of the three shuttles, angered at the aliens sheer arrogance.

"Yes sir." The shuttle commanders replied as they locked on and fired at the closest alien vessel which was easily as large as a human aircraft carrier. All of the missiles detonated at least a mile away from the alien ship they had targeted.

"They have some kind of anti missile system. Looks like they shot them down. Firing again."the Commander of Discovery said. This time, one missile managed to make it through their defenses and impact the ship. The damage however, looked minor at best.

"Direct hit! Damage appears minimal however, perhaps they have shields..." The feed from Discovery cut off suddenly.

"Sir, we just lost the Discovery. The aliens are returning fire on the shuttles." Lieutenant Small said without looking up from his computer screen. " Atlantis and Endeavour have also dropped offline. The ISS has opened fire."

"Any impact?" Richard asked.

"Um...no sir. Their missiles were shot down. They're reloading for a second shot however." Small replied.

"Get them out of there ! Tell them to get to the escape pods ." The president ordered. His head glistening with sweat but he hardly noticed.

"It's too late sir..." Small replied in almost a whisper as they listened to the audio from the ISS. The screeching of metal as it tore apart under the strain of multiple explosions. The crew were screaming in panic. Then silence.

"We've lost all of our orbital defensive capabilities Mr President." The Secretary of Defense spoke up. "Hardly a surprise but it hurts us nonetheless. "I just spoke with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs over at the Pentagon. He says the ASAT missiles are ready to deploy."

"Will they work?" Richard asked as he swallowed an aspirin.

"Impossible to know unfortunately. ASAT weapons are designed to take out satellites , but there's no reason they can't have an impact on the alien ships . As long as we can penetrate their missile defense that is. Discovery's sacrifice proved that our missiles can get through if we just keep firing. The more we fire at once the more chance we have of one getting through." Secretary Dawkins replied.

"Okay, let's hit them with our ASAT missiles. Coordinate with the Russians and Chinese , I believe they also have these weapons ?" Richard said.

"Correct Mr President. India also has a handful." Dawkins answered as the officers in the bunker got down to relaying those orders. "Once those are used up and if we haven't forced the aliens to retreat or at least open negotiations by that point we will have to look at the nuclear option."

"Jesus Christ Dawkins I'm not gonna start a nuclear war with them and render the planet uninhabitable." Richard glared. "Could you imagine the environmentalists?"

"We have bigger fish to fry than God damn tree huggers sir !" Secretary Dawkins countered, not caring if he offended the President or not. Niceties go out the window during an alien invasion. "Nukes may be the only option to prevent an outright invasion of our planet if our other weapons fail."

"Okay, I'll keep it in mind and only as a last resort. I want the Joint Chiefs here ASAP." Richard said "How are COG plans going?" He turned his attention to one of the aides from Homeland Security , referring to the "Continuity of Government" plans to ensure the leadership survived somehow even if the President and other senior officials were killed.

"Most of the Cabinet is on their way to High Point Special Facility at Mount Weather, Virginia. Several Deputy Secretaries have been moved to another bunker in Maryland to act as a secondary government should Mount Weather and our own location be compromised. Surviving members of Congress are being sent to Mount Weather also, though only a handful of Senators and Congressmen survived the attack on the Capitol. The Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate are among the dead. The Vice President is on her way to Andrews Air Force Base as we speak."

"Excellent, keep me updated. Now where are we with our ASAT weapons ?" Richard demanded. He was hoping against hope for some kind of result.

"Mixed results so far sir." Small responded "some definitely got though , but it's hard to tell what damage we caused , if any. What I can tell you is that we didn't destroy any enemy ships with those weapons."

"Mr President , that leaves us no option." Secretary Dawkins practically growled. "We have no choice but to authorise the use of nuclear weapons."

The President nodded slowly, looking at the grey floor.

"We've lost three space shuttles and the ISS and in return we only damaged one of their ships. And minor damage at that it would seem. God help us all." Richard sank into the leather swivel chair with his head in his hands. "Hit them back. Hard."

The Secretary of Defense looked over to a U.S. Army Major who was standing silently at the other side of the room holding a thick, black briefcase. The Major walked over, gently setting down the briefcase on the table in front of the President and opening it up.

Inside this otherwise regular brief case there were papers detailing locations for emergency bunkers for the President, options for what kind of military strike to undertake and in what scale and last but not least the authentication codes for Americas vast nuclear arsenal.

Richard stared at the open briefcase, half contemplating running and locking himself in a toilet cubicle. Shakily, the President reached in and pulled out a plastic card , which itself was covered by a plastic covering. He snapped the covering and took the card out of the case.

The National Command Authority - the President and Secretary of Defense - are the only people capable of issuing the order to deploy nuclear weapons. The black briefcase on the table also contained a highly secure telephone with a direct line to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who would confirm the authenticity of the President before launching the nukes.

Richard slowly picked up the satellite phone and spoke haltingly into it:

"Alpha - Zulu- Eight - Four - Charlie - Foxtrot - Niner"

"Presidential launch codes confirmed. Passing the order on to our nuclear forces now Mr President." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said from his car as he raced towards the White House from the Pentagon.

"I'm sorry." The President looked down at the table as a single tear escaped his eye.


	8. Nuke 'em

Admiral Kolshek smiled proudly at the screen in front of him. Dozens of human landmarks now lay in irreparable ruin. Their pathetic attempt at a counter attack had been laughable. Three tin cans armed with primitive missiles and a poor excuse of a space station that had been hastily armed. They hadn't stood a chance. He had almost felt guilty for ordering their distraction. It was hardly a fair fight. One missile had been lucky and got through, causing some minor damage to a troop transport ship. Luckily none of his men had been killed and only minor injuries had been reported. He had to hand it to the humans though, they had at least tried to fight back. They didn't seem to lack in bravery, or stupidity.

"Well, the humans responded to our surrender demand by attacking the fleet. Not that they had any success but nonetheless we can't let that sort of intransigence go unpunished. Perhaps taking a few more landmarks out will make them see sense." Kolshek said, still unfazed by the humans attempt at an attack. If that was their best then the ground invasion would be a walkover.

"Perhaps we should target their military bases now, have shown they are willing to fight. Their missile bases should also be a top priority ." Shirkol said.

"Not yet. I want to capture their military infrastructure intact as much as possible. We will hold back on that operation for the time being. First, let's target a few more of their precious monuments. Destroy their culture and history. Perhaps some museums would be a good choice..." A sudden cacophony of alarms interrupted his train of thought.

"Sir, we have incoming !" A crew member shouted in need panic.

"One of their pathetic ships again? Take it out. I've no time for child's games." Kolshek almost laughed at the prospect of another attack by what passed for human space defenses.

"Missiles sir. From the planet. Hundreds of them. Scans show they are nuclear armed!"

"Sneaky little shits!" Kolshek bellowed "move as many ships out of their path as possible!"

"We are safe enough at our current location but several ships are too close. They won't make in time. Let's pray to the Gods that their defenses can ward off their missiles." Shirkol responded mournfully.

American and Russian nuclear missiles had hit the fleet in an attack coordinated by both nations military leadership. The majority of those missiles were taken out by the ships GARDIAN defenses, but ultimately it was impossible to take out every one of them.

After ten minutes, it was all over.

"Get me a fucking status report on the fleet." Kolshek growled. He punched the wall in frustration. "Now !"

"Three cruisers, five frigates, two supply ships and four transports destroyed outright with another two frigates and a cruiser damaged and in need of repairs. Early estimates are over 13,000 personnel killed in action another 2,000 injured." Shirkol said. "This a blow, but not an insurmountable one sir."

"This should never have happened ! We could never have anticipated they would use nuclear weapons against our fleet." Kolshek screamed in a rage.

"I did suggest we destroy their missile bases from orbit." His second in command pointed out and immediately regretted it.

"Shut up! And since you're so full of good ideas why don't you do the honours and issue the attack order. Obliterate anything capable of posing a threat to us. I want their military bases wiped from existence. Do not target their satellites just yet. I want their whole planet to see the folly of resisting the Hegemony. "

"Yes, sir." Shirkol said, wishing he could kick his commanding officer out the airlock.

...

"...unprovoked attack that has left thousands dead across the world." The news anchor said as the screen split between the news studio and a live feed of New York showing smoke bellowing from where the Statue of Liberty used to stand. "Though there has as of yet been no world from the President himself, White House Press Secretary Will Chaplain has said that the President is safe and has ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to fight back. People are advised to remain at home unless they work in essential services. An emergency session of the United Nations Security Council is now underway in New York..."

Richard got up from the table and poured himself a cup of coffee. Unlike the White House above their heads, only essential personnel were allowed in the bunker which meant officials had to make their own coffee. The Joint Chiefs as well as the Secretary of Homeland Security has all also now joined the President in the bunker along with the SecDef and SecState.

"Well, at least we can confirm we have destroyed several enemy ships. Others seem to have suffered serious damage." The National Security Adviser said, sipping his own coffee. "We know we can kill them."

"Our use of weapons of mass destruction opens us up to retaliation. What if they flatten DC or New York in response ?" The President asked. Right now he would have given anything to be in a different job. The burden of responsibility was crushing.

"We don't know how they will react. Such a show of force may force them to the negotiating table."

"Sir, I don't think they're going to any negotiating table." Lieutenant Small shouted from his console. "NORAD is tracking multiple inbound bogies all across North America. Also getting reports of incoming over parts of Europe and Russia...also China...India... everywhere!"

"We've just lost Andrews !" Another officer piped up from his console.

"Find out if the Vice President is ok. That was her last known location." Richard said. His mouth increasingly dry.

"Peterson Air Force Base just went offline." Another soldier said. Then the reports started flooding through. "NORAD is gone !"

"I've lost contact with Pearl Harbor. Norfolk has gone dark too."

"Fort Bragg is not responding."

"Same with Fort Benning!"

"CO at McNair says they're under orbital bombardment."

"Camp Pendleton is reporting heavy explosions."

"The Ronald Reagan just went down with all hands."

"San Diego Navy base confirming several hits."

"USS Gerald Ford just took a direct hit! They're abandoning ship."

"Structural damage reported at the Pentagon, heavy casualties."

The reports kept coming in, each one more grim than the last. It was just luck that many military personnel has been deployed to protect strategic locations so the bases were large empty.

The President held his head in his hands. It was pounding.

"Just let this be a fucking dream!" He shouted. Everyone turned and looked at him.

"Mr President?" The Secretary of Defense said with a tone of concern.

"Sorry, this is just a lot to process." He muttered. "Any hits on civilian targets?"

"No sir. There is collateral damage from civilians killed on or near military bases but so far civilian infrastructure remains largely intact. That could change of course." Small responded. "NORADs last report said the aliens have moved their ships out of our missile range for the time begin. Smart move."

"So we are sitting ducks. They can hit us, but we can't hit them. Hardly seems fair." Richard moaned.

"They're likely softening us up in preparation of a ground invasion." The Army Chief of Staff said.

Before Richard could respond to that , a secret service agent entered the room and whispered in the Presidents ear.

"Mr President. We have confirmation that the Vice President is dead. One of the strikes on Andrews Air Force base struck Air Force One before it could take off." The agent said then left the room again.

"God almighty." Richard said in anger. Erin James, his VP, had been an excellent running mate and Vice President, but also a close friend. The aliens would pay for this.

The TV droned on in the background, though nobody really paid attention.

"Breaking news comes to us here in the studio, more alien bombings are being reported across the U.S. As we speak. We have confirmation that several sites around Washington DC and New York City have been attacked. We're just uh...Hang on. Confirmation now of hits in California, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina and Hawaii. Military bases seem to be at the forefront of the attacks."

"I'm surprised they haven't taken out our satellites yet." Said the Secretary of Defense.

"Isn't it obvious why, Mr Secretary." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs replied. "They want us to see our world burn. They want to scare us into surrender."

.


	9. Shooting Stars

"The stars really are beautiful tonight aren't they babe?" The young blonde haired girl said. Two months shy of twenty, she was a knockout and turned the heads of men (and some women) of all ages. Though she hadn't quite made the cut for the cheerleading team, she sure looked like one.

"They sure are Hazel." Her boyfriend replied. One year her senior, they had been together for just over eight months are were thoroughly in love. Rick wasn't the "jock" type that girls such as Hazel are stereotypical known for going for, though he wouldn't really be classed as a "nerd" either. If there was a class in between nerd and jock, then he guessed that's what he would be. Short spikey hair and glasses, he was still at least somewhat attractive. It had been his eyes and his smile that had really attracted Hazel.

For the last week, they had been camping in the woods of New York State. They had left their phones and iPads at home. Nothing but nature to keep them company, they had been content. Sure, taking a dump in the woods is a daunting the task the first time someone does it, but after that it's no big deal. They were living on canned food and fish caught from the river. The plan was to stay for another week and go back home.

"You know, anything could have happened. There could have been a nuclear war or alien invasion and we would be none the wiser." Hazel said, munching on her beans.

"We would know. There's an airbase about five miles from here. We would see the mushroom cloud quite clearly." Rick replied as he stifled a yawn, staring at the surprising number of shooting stars. He always been fascinated about wars and disasters. He liked the idea of living through the apocalypse, believing that years of video games and movies and comics had prepared him to survive anything that could be thrown at him.

"You're like so pessimistic Rick." She laughed, nudging him gently.

"You know me." He smiled. "It's been good hasn't it ? Just me and you. No phones, no facebook, no drama."

"Yeah, baby. It's been perfect. I wouldn't change it for the world. We should do this more often." She looked into those wide, blue eyes she had fallen in love with for what felt like an eternity and leaned in for a kiss, her eyes full of longing. Their mouths touched gently, their lips parting and then...the sky lit up. From their position on the hill they could clearly see a huge fireball rising into the nighttime sky. Then another, and another. After a few seconds the sound of the explosions reached them.

"What in the name of God was that?" Hazel asked as she got to her feet. "Are we being bombed?"

"Coming from the direction of the Air National Guard Base. It has to be." He said in awe. He had literally just been taking about the base being blown up in a hypothetical scenario not even a minute earlier.

"Terrorists ?" Hazel asked.

"I dunno. Maybe. More likely an ammunition stockpile caught fire and exploded. Either that or were at war with the Russians or Chinese. Nobody else has that kind of capacity to strike the continental U.S. other than maybe the Brits and French but they're our allies so it can't be them." Rick replied as several more explosions hit the base.

Hazel looked up at the night sky as something caught the corner of her eye. Many more shooting stars streaking across the sky.

"A meteor shower maybe ?" She suggested, scatching her head.

"Could be. But they usually burn up in the atmosphere. I think those are missiles." He said in awe. "I...I think we're at war babe."

"I think I want to go home Rick. I don't like this. Not one bit." She said rubbing her neck.

"Yeah I think that's a good call. Let's pack our stuff and get in the truck. I'll drive us back to mine we can stay at my parents tonight. They're still in Hawaii." Rick said, always happy when he and Hazel got an empty house.

It took a little over ten minutes to pack everything into the beat up, second hand truck he had worked tirelessly to afford and get back on the road - or more like dirt track - back down to the highway.

"Shouldn't take anymore than a half hour to get home. Maybe less." He said as the car pulled away from their campsite and back down the hill.

When the reached the highway, the roads were unusually quiet. Only a few other cars were driving . All of a sudden, several fire trucks and ambulances screamed by towards the airbase. The fires had left an eerie orange glow in the sky. Turning on the radio, there was an initial burst of static as he tried to tune into local stations.

"There has still been no official statement from the White House or the Pentagon. Meanwhile, State authorities are asking people to stay off the phones and keep lines clear for emergency calls only. The Governor has asked the public to remain in their own homes as much as possible until the situation clears. All National Guard units have been ordered to report to base for immediate deployment..."

And then the signal faded to static again. A beat up truck with a beat up aerial driving in hilly terrain in the middle of nowhere was not the best place to get a radio signal.

"Shit, lost the signal." Rick complained as he twisted the dial. "Didn't sound good from what little we did hear though."

"What the hell is going on?" Hazel said, more to herself than Rick as she watched dozens more shooting stars in the cloudless night sky.


	10. War of the Worlds

The President was holding another emergency National Security Council meeting. It had been two hours since they had nuked the alien fleet orbiting Earth. The results had been better than expected. Several aliens vessels destroyed, others damaged. However now they had moved out of Human missile range so as to prevent another attack.

"Well, this means one thing sir." Stephen Lamb, the Nat Sec Adviser said, glossing over the last reports from NORAD before it was knocked out "we can no longer engage the enemy in space. We will have to fight them in the air next, and if and quite frankly when that fails it will be ground combat."

"All affected NATO states have activated Article 5. We can expect aid from our allies, and of course we have to provide aid to them also. We are not alone in this at least." The Secretary of State said, still feeling dejected that the aliens had not come in peace.

"I've instructed our UN Ambassador to inform the UN Security Council we will share all of our current military technology with all other nations, both friend and foe, as long as other nations do the same." Richard said. "We're all human now. We're all in this mess together. Either we fight together or die together. Ok James, what have you got?" The President asked the Secretary of Defense.

"At least twenty six military bases have been struck nationwide. Many have been completely destroyed, others have survived relatively intact. I've instructed our forces to move away from their bases and into temporary , classified locations where the enemy likely won't know to strike . So far we have had over six million people try and sign up for the military. Trying to process that many people and find a gun and uniform for them is a logistics nightmare but..."

"Mr President !" Lt Small interrupted from the far side of the room, sitting at his desk. "We have more incoming all over the planet !"

"Another bombardment?" Richard asked.

"No...intel says they're ships. Small ships. Most likely landing craft ." Small replied frantically "heading for the North Eastern US. Also California and Texas. Looks like China and large parts of Europe and Russia too!"

"Invasion." Richard noted glumly "get some damn fighters in the air and intercept the transports."

"Already underway Mr President." The lieutenant said "fighters are deploying from our surviving bases and carriers now. Just getting confirmation now that the transports are being protected by alien fighters. Local commanders are reporting engagements over Los Angeles, Houston and New York along with a dozen other places."

"Are we winning?" Richard banged his hand on the oak wood table.

"Unclear." He said as more information came into his headset. Other operators also started to speak up.

"They just obliterated two Air Force squadrons over New York." One Air Force operator said, almost hysterical.

"We're giving them a hell of a fight over San Diego." Another officer spoke up, a young marine. " but we're losing more than they are sir. It's a battle of numbers and they're going to have more left that us."

"We should pull back our assets. No point sacrificing them needlessly in an unwinnable battle. We built hidden mountain and forrest bases for this very scenario . We will use our remaining air assets to strike the enemy at times and places of our choosing when they least expect it. This is just a needless slaughter of precious pilots and planes." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said in frustration .

The President reluctantly agreed to the Chairmans request. Slowly nodding his head.

"Very well, but do not stand our our aircraft operating over DC. We won't let them into our capital without a hell of a fight."

"All combat aircraft operating over US airspace are hereby ordered to immediately disengage and fall back to your designated secondary bases. This order excludes those operating over Washington DC and Virginia." Lt Small relayed the Presidents order to the nation's airbases.

"Ok, I think it's time to call an end to this afternoons meeting. I would like to return to the Oval Office and continue my work from there for as long as possible." Richard said as he stood up. He caught the two secret service agents in the room look at each other.

"Look guys, I was a marine for a long time. I know how to take care of myself. I will not hide away in a bunker when the rest of our people can't do that."

The two agents reluctantly agreed and escorted the President from the Situation Room to the Oval Office. Once he was alone in the office he stared long and hard out the window for at least an hour with the summer sun warming his cheeks, ignoring the never ending phone calls . Crisscrossing contrails in the clear blue sky and indicated of the air war above his head. Several pillars of black smoke rose in the air in the distance where aircraft and spacecraft alike had met a fiery end. One, the President would later learn, had fallen directly on top of the U.S. Supreme Court. Luckily the building had been evacuated already and nobody was killed in the incident other than the pilot.

"Mr President," an ageing Secret Service agent said as he opened the door to the Oval Office. "Marine One is en route from Quantico as we speak. ETA five minutes" He was referring to the call sign of the helicopter that was used to ferry the President to and fro.

Richard didn't argue with the agent. If the aliens were about to try and make a landing in DC it made no sense for the President to stick around. His death, or even worse his capture, would be a huge propaganda coup for the aliens.

Within mere minutes surely enough three low flying helicopters came into view. Painted in green and white and adorning the words "United States of America" on the side , these helicopters were recognisable the world over. Whilst the President of course would only board one of the aircraft, the other two were to act as a decoy to distract any would be attackers. A concept that would no doubt come in handy, Richard thought as he looked out the window. His train of thought was extinguished almost as fast as the lives of the pilots of board as one, then two, finally the third chopper burst into balls of flame as an unseen weapon swatted them from the sky. Alien fighters overhead were having a turkey shoot against any unarmed aircraft in sight. Even before the burning wreckage had hit the ground, two agents had burst into the Oval Office and were dragging him away from the window.

"We're moving you back to the bunker until we can figure out a safer way to move you out of the city." The head agent said "Marine One is down. Air Force One was destroyed at Andrews and we can't risk moving you in a motorcade with the roads as badly jammed as they are with people evacuating out of DC."

All of his top advisers were gone. The Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State had been evacuated to Mount Weather an hour earlier to join the rest of the cabinet. The President had stubbornly remained behind in the White House with only the National Security Adviser and a handful of essential support staff.

"Enemy ground troops have landed in Alexandria and Arlington." Lt Small said beckoning the President over to his computer "I have a live feed from a drone near the Pentagon."

In scenes reminiscent of 9/11, the Pentagon had partially collapsed and fires were burning all over. A mismatched group of local cops, national guardsmen and regular army were digging in and fighting back with everything they could . Alien tanks were advancing across the Pentagon parking lot blasting everything in sight with cannons much more powerful than anything an Abrams could spit out.

"Operation Paper Trail is underway I trust ?" Richard asked. He couldn't peel his eyes away from the sheer horror on the screen as the aliens burst through the American lines and began to enter the building itself.

"Yes sir. DoD has activated it. Whether the other departments got the order or not is up in the air." Small replied, referring to the top secret operation to delete and/or destroy any all sensitive government files and documents that could damage the human war effort if they fell into enemy hands. At that moment across Washington thousands of staffers and bureaucrats were quickly deleting files from computers and shredding paper documents or burning them in waste bins.

"The Pentagon has fallen, sir." Lt Small said, stating the obvious. It didn't matter too much though, as the pentagon was in reality just a large office building. An administrative centre. The Joints Chiefs and other senior military officers had been relocated to Site R, the Raven Rock bunker that had been nicknamed "the underground Pentagon."

"They're advancing fast." Said the National Security Adviser "in addition to occupying the southern suburbs of DC, another group seems to be landing to the north and they look to be trying to link up with one another and effectively surround the city."

"What forces have we in place to stop them?" Richard asked. He was now pacing the room.

"We have Maryland, Virginia and DC National Guard units, DC Police, Secret Service and a combined force of at least 5,000 U.S. Army and Marines. Most of them are setting up defences on the Mall. There's a Forward Operating Base at the Washington Monument." Stephen Lamb replied. "

He turned his attention once again to one of the screens showing live footage from a drone. The aliens had reached the National Mall and a vicious battle had broken out. Several hastily dug trenches crisscrossed the once pristine mall. The U.S. Military may have been expecting to lose DC, but they weren't going down without a fight. Hulking grey coloured alien tanks hovered over the battlefield, advancing from where the Capitol had once stood. A massive American flag that had been hoisted over the ruins had since been taken down by the aliens and burned. Richard watched intently as the Marines fired several anti tank rockets from their trenches, luckily managing to penetrate some of the alien tanks armor causing massive blue and orange explosions . It mattered little to the aliens, who kept up their advance. American Abrams tanks started their own advance across the Mall, exchanging fire with their faster, stronger counterparts, their treads chewing up the grass below them. Their cannons fired in defiance of the aliens demands to surrender. The tank battle on the Mall was tragically one sided. Humanity may have been fighting back, but we weren't winning.

Three Apache gunships flew in low and fast, making short work of the enemy tanks, but quick thinking alien infantry had no trouble shooting down the pesky human flying machines with their own portable anti air systems. The aliens started to pour into the trenches dug by the Marines on the Mall leading to vicious hand to hand combat before the drone recording it all was shot out of the sky.

"I need to address the nation." Richard said defiantly with his blood boiling at the prospect of Americas capital falling.

"Mr President, there's no time for that. We need to move you out of the city now." Stephen said in surprise but also respect. Most career politicians would run for the hills if faced with this, but not Richard.

"I'll make it quick. I need to reassure the American people that even if Washington falls, America will fight on." Richard said back.

Realising he wasn't going to back down, the Secret Service escorted the President back upstairs and into the White House Press Room, where several reporters were still trapped as it was far too dangerous outside for them to leave. There were audible gasps as the President took to the podium, holding an M4 rifle he had acquired from the Secret Service armory. The black Kevlar he wore over his white shirt and blue tie really didn't match, but what the hell did he care?

"Get those cameras rolling." Richard said in what amounted to a growl. A camera man gave him a countdown and the President began to speak into the camera. There were audible explosions and gunshots in the distance, but the President spoke over them.

"My fellow Americans. Today our nation has been invaded. The enemy has landed in the heart of our capital. The barbarians are the gates. The truth is this may very well be the final time I address you, but know this: If I fall here today, I will fall fighting". Richard roared, lifting his weapon up for the world to see. "I ask of you all today to stand together. Stand as one and tell the invaders they will not have our planet. We will fight to the last bullet. As long as one of us remains alive, then this war is not lost. No matter what, America will live on. Humanity will live on. No surrender !" The President said that last sentence defiantly, daring anyone to challenge him. The aliens intended to present that particular challenge judging by the increasing tempo of gunfire and explosions.

The President then added one last bit "Oh, and Admiral Kolshek, Fuck You!"

The sounds of battle drew closer. The President couldn't see the alien tanks smashing through the fences around the White House but he certainly could hear the increasing tempo of gunfire. It was clear the enemy was near.

Millions of people around the world who were watching the American Presidents impromptu speech were stunned by the sheer brazenness of it. They were further stunned when something cracked and shattered off screen and the President turned his attention away from the camera and aimed his rifle and fired at an unseen enemy. Gunshots and explosions filled the airwaves before the cameras themselves were caught in the crossfire and destroyed.

"Semper Fi mother fuckers!" Richard yelled as the first of his shots took down a Batarian soldier as it stormed through the smashed open Press Room door. More followed behind and engaged in a firefight with surviving Secret Service agents whilst reporters scattered and ran in all directions.

Something hit Richard hard in the back of the head. He barely had time to realise one of his own protection detail had struck him and was carrying him away to safety.

"The bastards won't even let me die bravely." Was Richard last thought as his body fell unconscious.


	11. Washington has Fallen

Kolshek looked out the window of the Oval Office and into the Rose Garden beyond. This was where the American President did his day to day work. Luckily this room remained undamaged by battle. The rest of the building was riddled with bullet holes and fire damage unfortunately but that could be repaired. The Americans military had fought hard and bravely for their capital city, but in the end it had fallen to his superior forces. The enemy was in full retreat. This would do as his headquarters on Earth. Seeing their most precious building occupied would surely make the humans finally accept defeat. He sat on the leather chair in front of the resolute desk. It was rather small by Batarian standards but it did the job. The fighting had died down after a few hours with the remaining human forces either surrendering, or retreating into the countryside to engage in guerrilla warfare. Despite having massively superior firepower and technology, Kolshek had been horrified to learn of Batarian losses during the Washington DC campaign. 5,000 soldiers KIA, double that wounded and dozens missing in action. Nevertheless enemy losses had been catastrophically higher than his own, which pleased him.

"Any news on their President?" Kolshek demanded of an aide in the office.

"Sir, we uh..." He stammered.

"Where is he?" He screamed as he banged his fist on the table sending writing implements flying across the room.

"He tried to enter battle but his bodyguards knocked him out and carried him away. We almost had him. We believe they entered a tunnel system or bunker beneath the building. We're working on gaining access now. However their prisoners have been uncooperative even under torture. We continue efforts to tunnel into the primary bunker underground and enter the tunnel system." The aide said, shrinking away from any potential violent backlash.

"I want him alive! The sheer psychological factor of having their leader surrender to us could force them into an unconditional surrender. Find him. Now!" Kolshek roared at his subordinate as he fled the office to follow the orders he had been given. The admiral had been thrown into a rage when he watched the presidents broadcast urging the people to resist then ending it with a personal message to "fuck you." Nobody spoke to him like that, especially lesser species. The insult was intolerable. This President of theirs would be found, used for propaganda purposes once captured and then brutally tortured to death personally.

"Get their press in here." He shouted at the aide as he left the room. Surely enough within minutes the surviving members of the White House press corps entered the room carrying cameras and microphones. They were held at gunpoint. Taking control of their media would be half the battle in forcing them to surrender.

Sitting behind the Presidents desk in the Oval Office, with the Stars and Stripes taken away and replaced with the Batarian Hegemony flag, Admiral Kolshek spoke into the cameras and addressed humanity.

"Good evening Humans. As you can see, tonight I address you from the Oval Office, the seat of power of the President of the United States. Clearly, he has vacated the premises. He has fled like a coward. Your leaders are in hiding, your armies in disarray. It is time to surrender and accept the might of the Batarian Hegmony as the true ruler of this world. Those who cooperate can become rich and powerful. Those who don't...well we have the slave mines and mercenary brigades for them. Or a painful death. Your United States is collapsing. Washington has been overwhelmed, your White House in our hands. Resistance is futile. Surrender. Or die." The Batarian Admiral ended the broadcast and send the human reporters in the way. He hated all press, human or otherwise, but they had their uses.

Washington DC and its environs had fallen entirely. All local military bases had surrendered after heavy fighting. Elsewhere in the so called United States, the Batarian military was on the advance, fighting to take important areas of the country particularly New York, California and Texas. The Americans military forces were fighting back and resisting fiercely but the admiral was confident victory was in sight. The humans would surrender eventually...

Wouldn't they ?


	12. Watching

Across the planet Earth, military bases, power plants, major transit hubs and government buildings had been reduced to rubble by untouchable Batarian weapons. What the Batarians didn't know was that from the cold depths of space, someone was watching them...

The Batarians, in all their arrogance, had come to assume that everything they did was perfect. From their ships and weapons to their language and culture. That mindset also included their anti stealth scanning technology.

The Humans had fired back - with frighteningly powerful nuclear weapons - as well as their own primitive armed spacecraft, those who were watching had noted. They were brave no doubt, but such powerful nuclear devices in the hands of an undeveloped race was a disturbing concept. The Krogan came to mind.

The war had quickly moved planet side when the Humans lack luster space defenses were swept aside. That was where Humanitys forces had shined the brightest. Across their world, human military forces and disorganised civilian militias had fought back fiercely and made the Hegemony pay dearly for every bit of land they took. Never the less, bravery was only getting the Humans so far, a defeat is still a defeat regardless of how hard the defending side fights. That was the sad story playing out across the human homeworld. The Humans fought hard , and counter attacked where possible, but they were on the retreat on most fronts.

As the Hegemony Navy slammed it's weapons hard on human infrastructure, they had no idea that hidden near the Earth's moon a small scouting vessel sat, it's occupants watching in horror and anger at the sudden and unprovoked act of aggression that the Batarians had launched upon this young race.

The Captain of the small scouting vessel sighed in anger. She had just finished her report and it had been sent to the powers that be. She read over the summary of the report again:

"Having followed a Batarian scout fleet for sometime, we knew they were up to something suspicious. Their activation of the relay confirmed our suspicions. Having followed them through we discovered the local system contained a garden world with a developing intelligent species called "Homo Sapiens, or Humans. As attached photos show, they are remarkably similar in appearance to the Asari, though have two genders. Having downloaded the contents of their equivalent of the extra net we have learned a great deal about this new race. They remained a relatively static race technologically for most of their history, until their so called industrial Revolution two centuries ago, at which point technology rapidly expanded. Two planet wide conflicts called World War 1 and World War 2 respectively, followed by a so called "Cold War" between the powerful nations of the planet catapulted human technology drastically as opposing sides attempted to become stronger than the other. They have mastered the power of the atom as previously stated, using two nuclear weapons to end their Second World War. Luckily common sense prevailed and despite an arsenal of thousands of nuclear weapons, they have never been used in a conflict since. With some guidance the Humans could be ready to make contact with the Galactic community in the coming decades, assuming they survive the invasion. They have the compassion and diplomatic incentives of the Asari, the military nature of the Turians, the inquisitive and scientific nature of the Salarians, the brutality of the Krogan and the merchantile prowess of the Volus. They are a rather remarkable race."

The report had been sent, with a longer more detailed report to follow once the information from the human archive's had been fully read.

"This time the Batarians have gone too far. The Council will not like this one bit." She said to herself, still shaking with anger at the arrogance of the Batarians.


	13. New Friend

"We have lost contact with our affiliate stations in Washington DC but from all accounts the entire city has fallen to the alien forces. A military source has claimed that Batarian troops have begun to advance southwards from DC towards the navy base at Norfolk, whilst other battle groups have started to advance northwards into Baltimore, meeting scattered resistance from local police and remaining national guard units in be area. Meanwhile the west coast reports heavy fighting in Los Angeles as US Marines launch a large scale counter attack on alien forces occupying the downtown area."

Hazel and Rick sat glued to the TV screen, as they had for the past three days. So far they had been lucky to avoid any of the fighting in other parts of the country, though the nearby air base had been bombed on the first night.

The newsreader read on : "There has still been no new public appearances of President Richard Samuels , who has been forced into hiding following the fall of Washington DC yesterday. We can confirm the death of the Vice President and Speaker of the House. Much of our government has been shattered though anonymous military sources have told us the President is alive and enroute to a secure facility to lead the war effort. In addition to our own country we have confirmed reports of alien ground invasions in the United Kingdom and France, along with Russia, China, India and several countries in South America. The British Prime Minister was killed yesterday during an alien air raid in London that left 10 Downing Street in ruins. British troops have started a counter attack in North London, with forces making an advance to retake Whitehall according to the Ministry of Defence."

And then the TV cut out.

"Damn TV. Knew I should have bought a new one." Rick said as he fiddled around with buttons.

"It's not the TV. Look ." Hazel said as she flicked a light switch in the living room. "The power is out."

"Shit. They must have taken out a power station. Or maybe just a transformer was damaged by an explosion." Rick groaned as he opened the fridge and took a bottle of water out, wondering how long the food in the freezer would now last if the power didn't come back on.

"I'm going to the store babe. Gonna have to get some more canned food and bottled water. The stuff in the freezer won't last long." Rick said as he grabbed his truck keys and prepared to leave.

"I'll come with you Rick. I don't wanna be stuck in here anymore, I'm bored shitless." She said flicking her hair over her shoulders.

"I'd rather you stayed here in case something happens. Three people ended up in hospital when the looting started at the store yesterday." He said giving her a pleading look. It had little effect on her.

"Cool story bro, but I'm comin'." She said flashing him a smile.

"Rebellious little shit." He smiled back. "Come on then let's get a move on, just stay close to me."

"Yeah, will do Dad." She rolled her eyes and laughed. Then she felt a pain in her heart as she remembered the loss of her father and mother when the aliens had bombed the Statue of Liberty. They had been on a tour on Liberty Island when the aliens bombed it to oblivion.

"You ok honey?" Rick asked her, noticing how quiet she had become.

"Yeah." She replied, her voice wavering but holding. Barely. "I'll be ok. Let's just get to the store and get what we need." She turned on the radio and fiddled with the dial. Many stations had been replaced by static but she finally came across one.

"FEMA has set up refugee camps outside several major cities for the hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes by the invasion. So far, an estimated 250,000 people died in the United States alone due to the war, with upwards of several million deaths world wide . Communications with US military bases in Germany, Iraq and South Korea have been knocked out following massive bombardments on those nations. In regards to Korea, a joint North and South Korean force has successfully driven back invading Batarian forces that landed near the DMZ..."

"Holy shit watch out !" Hazel suddenly screamed as she stated at the sky. An aircraft was rapidly descending toward the road at a very awkward angle. Rick swerved his truck and very narrowly avoided the falling aircraft as it slammed into the grass next to the road and tore up the grass and road as it skidded along , tumbling several times before coming to a rest.

"Fuck me !" Rick said as he stopped the truck and looked behind him. If he had been five miles an hour slower they would have been killed.

"That's no plane." Hazel observed of the aircraft. It was sleek and elegant, or it had been at any rate.

"No," Rick started as they got out the truck and gingerly took a few steps towards it ."But it doesn't look like the small fighter ships they've been showing on the TV either."

The door, or what they assumed to be the door, started to spark and smoke began bellowing from outside.

There was a high pitched scream that could have been mistaken for a human.

"Should we try and help?" Hazel asked as she took a step forward, unsure of what to do.

"The hell we will. They invaded our world. They killed your parents for Christ sake !" Rick said in anger, spitting on the ground. Then the voice screamed again.

"God damn it." Rick grumbled as his conscience got the better of him and he marched forward. The sparking door split away relatively easy but the smoke obscured vision and stung his eyes. He took a hanky out his pocket and put it over his nose, though it barely helped. He could hardly see two feet in front of him but could make the outlines of several bodies lying around the interior of the ship. The bodies were clearly humanoid in shape, just like the Batarians, though the proportions of the bodies on the ground seemed...wrong. It was a fairly small ship, perhaps double the size of a large military transport helicopter.

A cough got his attention . One of them was still alive .

"Rick, where are you ?" He heard Hazel cough.

"Go outside I got this." He replied, trying to cover his mouth.

"Come on Rick, this one's still alive."

"This is bullshit." He muttered as he took the arm of the injured alien on the ground whilst his girlfriend took the other arm and dragged it out together. They lay the injured alien on the ground next to the truck.

"Well fuck me." Rick said as he stared at the unconcious form on the ground.

"This one looks almost Human." Hazel said as she kneeled down next to the alien. There was no obvious injuries but who knew what was going on inside it's body.

"Yeah, if humans were blue." He replied.


	14. New Friend Part 2

Lasaras head throbbed. Everything was black. It took her a moment to realise that was because her eyes were still closed. She slowly opened them and found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. The memories were coming flooding back down. After she had sent her report on the Batarian attack on Earth to the council, they had tasked her and her small crew to get closer to the planet and study the local species further before the council would decide how best to proceed. Things had gone wrong quickly. Despite their supposed state of the art stealth tech, a Batarian fighter had clocked them and shot them down . Her ship has crashed down to Earth in seconds.

Then the rest of the memories came back. The darkness and the smoke. The flames. The screaming.

"Goddess." She cried to herself in anguish. She hadn't been able to save her crew.

She looked around, her neck pained her to move but it was bearable. She was in a room. Definitely no longer her ship. It was...alien. the furniture, the gadgets. All completely different to things found in the known galaxy though strangely similar.

Her first thought was that she was in a human dwelling or perhaps even a prison. That thought was interrupted as she realised she had something on her forehead. Some kind of towel. Whoever has found her had obviously made some kind of effort to treat her wounds , even if it was rudimentary.

She was lying on a couch but she forced herself to sit up. She had to be ready for a thing if her captors came back. Or perhaps rescuers ? Her head hurt too much to think straight.

She got the fright of her life when a Human walked into the room carrying some kind of container. Evidently the feeling was mutual as he dropped the container and water splilled all over the floor.

"Holy shit, you're awake !" The human said. She had no idea what it was saying. Their translation software had been destroyed with her ship and her mind felt too frail at that moment to meld with his so they could understand eachother.

She looked at the Human curiously. Just like in the photos taken from their local extranet. They stood more or less similar height to an Asari, with remarkably similar facial features though they possessed mounds of fur on their heads. The one that had just walked in appeared to be the female of the species, judging by the apparent breasts under her clothing.

They stared at eachother for a moment , unsure as to what to say with no way to communicate. The Human female picked up the water container she had dropped and offered it to Lasara, who took it and examined it. Definitely water. She gulped it down and thanked her in her own language, mentally kicking herself as she remembered the language barrier.

"Hazel." The Human pointed to herself. The she said "Human." She recognised that word at least from her limited studies of Human archive's. This human must have been a speaker of the English language , one of the more common languages on the planet. Lasara only recognised a handful of words from the language however so communication would be somewhat awkward until she was fit enough to meld with the human.

"Lasara." She stood up slowly, pointing to herself before saying "Asari." The Human , "Hazel" appeared to grasp what she meant. Hazel disapeared for a few moment and returned with another human, which she assumed to be a male. He had much shorter hair than the female, perhaps a cultural norm?

He introduced himself as "Rick" and smiled at her, or at least what appeared to be a smile. Who was to say Human facial expressions were the same as Asari? She had not had the time to do thorough investigation of the species unfortunately.

"Rick", which she assumed to be his name, went to another room and returned with a plastic model of the planet. She recognised it as Earth judging by the continents.

"Earth." He said, spinning the model planet around on its base. He repeated it till she got the idea.

"Thessia." She responded , pointed out the window and towards blue sky.

That was pretty much going to be the extent of their ability to communicate unless she melted with one of them. She was exhausted but it was the only option. Gingerly stepping towards the female, she slowly reached her hands out to either side of her head and waited for the female to allow her to proceed before touching her head.

Memories, thoughts , information. All transferred rapidly. It left Hazel feeling nauseous and with a pretty bad heachache. It left lasara feeling even worse.

"What the hell was that ?" Hazel panted, taking a deep breath.

"I am sorry. This was the best way for us to communicate." Lasara replied.

"Whoa you speak English?" Rick said in shock.

"My species can meld with others and transfer memories. It's an exhaustive process but now we can speak." She said. "Thank you for saving my life. Did any of my crew survive"

"No. I dont think so anyway. There was too much smoke and fire was everywhere. We had to get out. Then the Batarian fighters started combing the area. Probably looking for you." Rick said, still stunned he was conversing with an alien.

"Batarians." She spat "They have gone too far this time."

"So," Hazel started unsure as to how to do to go on "you're like, on our side ?"

"There's a huge universe out there full of life. In addition to Batarian and Asari there are the Turians, Salarians, Volus, Quarians, Drell, Hanar, Elcor amongst others. Most are peaceful. The Batarians are a rogue species and are fond of slavery. Think of Galactic equivalent of your North Korea. They are looked down upon by the rest of the galaxy. Currently the galaxy is overseen by the Citadel Council made up of the Salarians, Asari and Turians, who maintain peace and order in our galaxy. This unprovoked attack on your homeworld is seen as unacceptable by the Galactic community."

"So they're gonna help us?" Rick asked.

"Perhaps. They are discussing it now as far as I am aware but I'm out of contact with them now. I'm in the dark same as you unfortunately." She said , struggling to get the words out. The effort was taking its toll on her. Her head still hurt. She felt light headed and felt her feet give way under her. The human male rushed over and caught her before she could hit the ground. He lay her glently back on the couch where she fell asleep.

These humans don't seem so bad, was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep.


	15. Running

Richard rubbed his head where the Secret Service agent had struck him earlier. It had been a necessary evil and the agent had no doubt saved his life by knocking him out to prevent him making a futile last stand. Had he been caught alive it would have been a huge victory for those four eyed ugly bastard's.

"Mr President we have to get moving." John Simmons, the head of his protection detail said. They had been walking for over an hour aiming for one of the secret emergency exits somewhere to the west of DC, where a Green Beret team was on standby to whisk the President to safety. The tunnels under DC were vast. The White House tunnels were connected to the Capitol, the Pentagon and Joint Base Andrews , all of which had been taken rapidly during the invasion of the city. However the tunnels also connected to less well known locations which provided an underground emergency escape for the president should he or she be unable to evacuate aboard Marine One or Air Force One.

The underground monorail system had been damaged during the Batarians bombings forcing them to walk. President Samuels and the two surviving agents John Simmons and Cameron Barrister were armed with submachine guns and were taking no chances, scanning for threats at every corner. The rest of the Secret Service had given their lives protecting the White House during the aliens storming of the building. The door that accessed the White House nuclear fallout shelter and the subsequent tunnel system had been sealed but no doubt the aliens would find a way to blast or hack their way through it soon.

"Whats the plan once we get the hell out of here?" Richard asked as the lights flickered on and off several times. He wasn't a man scared of the dark but the thought of being stuck underground with no source of light was terrifying. Luckily the emergency power kicked in.

"We have Special Forces on standby to meet us at the exit point, apparently anyway. The plan is to head to High Point Special Facility at Mount Weather about fifteen miles west of the tunnel exit. Thus far the aliens haven't compromised it." The junior agent, Cameron said.

"Maybe they're laying in wait for me to arrive to ambush us." Richard said with a tone of dread. It still didn't feel real.

"It's possible but we have little choice. Camp David has been destroyed as has NORAD. Mt Weather is the best bet. Homeland Security as part of Operation Paper Trail had all files both paper and digital relating to the shelter destroyed or deleted when the attack started, hell they even went through Wikipedia deleting all mention of it. They were as thorough as can be. Whether it's enough remains to be seen but right now it's our only option." John, the experienced agent said. A tall but stocky bald man of forty five, he had seen action in Iraq , Afghanistan and Syria and was a two time recipient of the Medal of Honor. He took no nonsense and no prisoners.

"Fine, I want to address the nation as soon as we arrive there and tell them the fight is far from over." Richard said. Then it hit him that for all he knew the fight was over . Maybe the military had surrendered when Washington fell? He couldn't let himself think like that.

It took another hour but they eventually made it to the exit. The ladders led up to a small clearing surrounded by trees. The agents emerged first and stood around the President when he got out.

They scanned the tree line, ready to fire. If aliens were here though they would be dead already and they knew it.

"Identify yourselves." A voice thundered from the treeline.

"Special Agent Cameron Barrister and Special Agent John Simmons, United States Secret Service."

"Do you have Yankee One?" The unseen voice called back.

"Affirmative." Cameron replied. They voice knew the President's secret call sign, which came as a relief.

A squad of uniformed soldiers stepped out from the trees and came forward.

"Good to see you boys got POTUS out safely. I'm Captain Frank Dawson, US Army. We're here to get you to High Point." The lead soldier said.

"Well lead the way, good to see some of you are still in the fight." The President spoke up.

"As you said in your speech, "the war isn't lost as long as one of us remains breathing." The Captain replied as the twelve man SOF detachment and the president and his two bodyguards made their way to a trio of civilian minivans.

"We will be there in about twenty minutes, the roads were pretty clear on the way in. The rest of your cabinet is there waiting. Continuity of Government has been fully activated. So far the aliens haven't sniffed the place out." Captain Dawkins said.

"Let's get there as soon as possible. I want to get our counter attack organised. We may be down but we sure as shit ain't out." Richard said defiantly as they got underway.

Dawkins , who was sitting in front of the President spoke up "Just to bring you up to speed , we have a full scale battle underway for control of New York City. Pretty much a stalemate now. Manhattan is a complete warzone. We're talking well over 50,000 civilians dead and God only knows how many more injured and homeless. They pushed us out of DC and cut right through Baltimore . Another group managed to breakthrough our defenses in Virginia and take what was left of the navy base at Norfolk. The West Coast isn't much letter. The Marines counter attack in LA was crushed and those ugly bug eyed sons of bitches swept southwards right into San Diego and also took Mirimar and Pendleton. We are still holding our own in the Mid West and according to rumors the Joint Chiefs are talking about a counter offensive to push back into California."

"Good to hear. We will win. We are on home turf, they are most certainly not." The President was increasingly confident they could win. They didn't have to kill them all, just enough to make them realise they had bit off more than they could chew and perhaps it was time to find another planet to pick on.


	16. Fugitive leader

The White House, Washington DC (occupied) Invasion +3

To call the Batarian Admiral angry would have been a significant understatement. His second in command Shirkol could swear he saw steam coming from his ears.

"How the hell did he get away ?" He snapped. They had finally broken through the blast door to the bunker and discovered the elaborate tunnel system and had combed through most of it but there had been no sign of the American leader.

"We found several escape hatches, sir. We have Special Forces teams searching the most likely areas they would have tried to escape from as we speak." Shirkol said nervously, his four eyes twitching.

The admiral sat back down on the leather chair that President Samuels had been sitting on only a couple of days earlier and sighed.

"It matters little anyway." He said, waving away his anger for now. "We are winning. One man can hardly stop us. We have their capital city, and half of their largest city in our hands also." He said , the latter referring to New York.

"The latest news from the New York front is um..." Shirkol started haltingly, backing up slightly.

"Well..."

"The Humans counter attack pushed us back several city blocks and they have retaken control of the large park in the centre of Manhattan island. Their infantry are having a field day with out armored vehicles given how high density an urban area we are fighting them in. Even their local law enforcement are fighting against us along with armed civilians. We have sustained heavy casualties but we have stalled their counter attack for now. We will try and regain lost ground tomorrow."

"We will punish them for this humiliation. This city, this New York is important to them. It is considered the greatest city on their planet. We will turn it to ash and dust. Move one of our ships back into low orbit for a period of time and begin a heavy orbital bombardment on civilian targets across the city. Skyscrapers, bridges , anything. They will suffer." Kolshek growled. No more humiliation. He would not be beaten back by barbarians.

"Yes sir. It shall be done." Shirkol said, lowering his eyes and exiting the Oval Office. Inferior species or not, it didn't sit right with him blowing up a city full of civilians. But what could he do ?

Across Manhattan, thousand of people sheltering in their apartments had no idea about the rain of fire coming for them until they were rudely awoken by Earth shattering explosions all around them. Times Square , where the US Army and NYPD SWAT teams had just retaken after a costly battle suddenly vanished in a violent flash of light leaving rubble and glass in its wake. Every bridge and tunnel to and from the city suffered the same fate as did the civilian airports around New York and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Over a hundred more strikes struck at random across Manhattan that lit up the sky in the wee small hours . By the time it was over only ten minutes later over 100,000 lives had perished, 75% of which were innocent civilians. Those who remained found themselves trapped on the island with access to and from Manhattan by car, train, boat or plane nearly impossible. They wanted to starve the Humans of New York into submission.

The soldiers and citizens of New York answered that by storming towards the Batarians lines little over an hour later, streaming out of their shelters in the subway. Once again, the Batarian lines were pushed back, if only slightly. They could break the human body, but breaking the human spirit was another matter.

…...

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Centre , Virginia (High Point Special Facility) Invasion + 3

The 600‚000 square feet underground complex was quite a feat of engineering. It wasn't just a bomb shelter, it was almost a small underground city complete with a fully functional hospital, crematorium, sleeping and dining areas, a bowling alley and a small cinema and radio broadcasting stations that connected to the emergency alert system where the President could address the nation. The complex had been built in the 50s during the Cold War and upgraded and expanded following 9/11. When the alien threat was discovered it was fully activated with support personnel arriving from all government and military departments. Surviving members of Congress, the Supreme Court and the cabinet had all made their way to Mt Weather when the war began. From there the remaining US military forces were being rallied and reorganised and contact being made with others nations to coordinate the fight to free Earth from the invaders.

"So, Mr President, I hope you've made yourself at home." Said Gary Ashcroft, the Administrator of FEMA, who was the agency in charge of operating the complex.

"Yeah, it's bigger than I imagined to be honest. I'm quite impressed. I'm just hoping we are safe from detection." Richard replied, adjusting his tie. The new suit he had borrowed from one his cabinet secretaries didn't quite fit, but he hadn't exactly had time to pack before leaving the White House. "So what's the latest Gary?"

"FEMA is fully mobilised and we have been setting up refugee camps for people have been lost their homes. With the national infrastructure in ruins it's been difficult to get rescue equipment through to where it needs to be. I have serious concerns about famine in New York. Manhattan has been intentionally cut off and besieged. Looks like they want to starve them out. The Air Force tried some airdrops but they cut it off after losing too many aircraft." The FEMA administrator replied sadly. "The power grid is still functional in most areas but not all. Some power plants have been damaged in the aliens airraids, including a couple of nuclear plants. We managed to shut them down safely and there's no risk of a serious meltdown thankfully."

"It's a goddamn mess Gary, that's what it is." The President sighed as we watched the banks of TV screens in the control rooms all of them shaking different TV stations from around the globe. A few just showed static. Footage of gunbattles and fleeing refugees and burning buildings was all the news of the day.

"Mr President, we have a problem." Said James Dawkins, the Secretary of Defense, who she just entered the room with a steaming hot black coffee.

"The entire world has a problem, James." Richard said forcing a smile as he prepared for more bad news.

"We've lost contact with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The last report from the Raven Rock bunker indicated Batarian ground attack which followed an orbital bombardment of the blast door." The Secretary of Defense said.

"Did anyone make it out ?"

"We haven't had any contact with anyone at Site R for over half an hour. We have to assume the worst. I've had additional patrols placed on the perimeter of our own location as a precaution. Can't be too careful." James replied sitting his coffee.

"Who's the highest ranking officer left ?" Richard asked in frustration. Losing the Joint Chiefs would be a hell of a blow.

"That we have been able to get in contact with ? General Adam Kitchener down in Florida. In charge of SOCOM. We don't know about the others yet. Comms are in chaos." The Secretary said sitting down . "It's a cluster fuck Mr President, and our job is to unfuck the cluster which isn't gonna be a walk in the park."

"No James, it certainly won't be."


	17. State of War

Mount Weather, Virginia, USA - Invasion + 14

"My fellow Americans, it's been a long two weeks, it's been a tough two weeks. We have all suffered. We have all lost loved ones. As I speak to you, many of our towns and cities lie behind enemy lines, but let us remember that we have not lost. Nor will we lose. Our brave men and women even now are on the offensive against these savages occupying our great nation. Today, with the unanimous backing of the surviving members of Congress, I am declaring that a formal state of war is now in existence between the United States of America and the Batarian Hegemomy. We will remain at war with the Hegemony until they not only relinquish any occupied lands in the United States, but leave Earth entirely. There will be no surrender. The only surrender we await is that of the enemy forces occupying areas of our world. We await the admirals response."

The President smiled at the camera as the image was beamed into millions of homes across the nation. The emergency broadcast system had been carrying the president speeches ever since the invasion and so far luckily the enemy had not compromised it. The speech went on for a bit longer, but the real reason wasn't just as a morale booster, but rather to rile the Batarian admiral. They wanted to troll him essentially. Intelligence had realised that the admiral had been making rash decisions and mistakes when angry. They were goading him into making another. They hoped.

...

The White House, Washington DC (Occupied)

Kolshek screamed at the TV in the Lincoln Bedroom. He was already annoyed at how uncomfortable human mattresses were but now that Varren Fucker was back making another speech and they were no closer to finding him. Not only that but making a speech declaring war on him! Here was an enemy that was on the run and losing ground every day and he had the guts to declare war when he should be surrendering and begging for mercy.

"Shirkol! Get in here !" He shouted at his subordinate was was working in an office just outside the the bedroom.

"I'm knocking these Americans down a peg ! I want a new offensive against their northern cities launched in he next two days." Kolshek thundered

"That would be eating into our reserves sir. I'm not sure we can spare the..."

"I will not be humiliated by that fucking human like this ! We will use the reserves and knock the Americans out for good."

"Yes..." Shirkol replied as he left the room and quickly added "sir"

...

Across the Planet Earth, war was raging. From the steppes of Russia to the streets of Paris, from the beaches of Brazil to the mountains of Iran, humanity was united and fighting back. Israeli artillery supported a joint force of Syrian Army and Syrian rebels as they launched a counter attack to retake Damascus from the occupying aliens. The Batarians obliterated Hong Kong in a show of force to scare China. The Chinese responded by nuking a Batarian army group advancing on Beijing. The war in China would see some of the fiercest battles in history and the Batarians would experience good old fashioned inch by inch trench warfare for the first time in countless centuries. Alien forces occupying Pakistan cut through India like a knife through butter and rolled into Myanmar and Bangladesh. The offensive left India cut in two with the north and south government controlled and the centre an alien occupation zone. Delhi became a frontline city and would earn the nickname "India's Stalingrad". Remnants of the Pakistani Air Force would prove a huge asset to the Indian military as they joined forces to regain air superiority over New Dehli. The aliens swept aside the Iraqi and Saudi armies in mere days, killing or capturing both nations leadership and burning the oil fields , draining human forces of much needed oil. From Iraq they thundered into Iran reached as far as the capital Tehran before a counter offensive by the Revolutionary Guards blunted the alien invasion in its tracks. There were some limited incursions in Venezuela and Brazil, South America was largely spared massive ground invasions as was Australia and Japan. The aliens simply hadn't the numbers to invade everywhere at once. In Europe, the UK, Italy, France, Belgium and Germany along with Russia, Poland and Ukraine had been directly invaded whilst the others saw devastating orbital strikes in their capitals.

In the United States, alien forces had seized much of the eastern seaboard, controlling everywhere between the ruins of New York City and as far south as Atlanta which was under seige. The Georgia National Guard and the Atlanta PD were holding out bravely and stubbornly under constant bombardment. Attempts by Batarian forces to invade Pennsylvania had failed as regular US Army units supplemented by local National Guardsmen and police departments had fought them to a standstill outside Philadelphia. On the west coast, California had fallen entirely thought the Marines and remnants of the California National Guard were gathering in Oregon and Nevada to launch an invasion to liberate the state. Across Texas and Oklahoma , as in many occupied areas of the US, the aliens were having a hell of a time dealing with armed civilians engaged in partisan warfare.

By the end of the second week of the First Contact War, some 150 million humans had perished in the conflict. More than the First and Second World Wars combined.

Little did anyone know, another fleet was on the way to the Sol System locked and loaded for war.

And they weren't Batarians.


	18. Friends and Enemies

From the diary of PFC John Cole, U.S. army

Invasion + 16

So it looks like our attack to retake New York City is on hold. The Batarians decided to move first. Looks like they want to take the rest of the state and maybe push into Canada. So anyway we were camped outside some little town with orders to protect the nearby airbase when those alien sons of bitches got itchy trigger fingers and hit us with everything they had. Word came down the line that the alien offensive was across the entire North Eastern front. I guess their leader was pretty pissed at the Presidents speech.

So the entire front lit up, I mean really lit up. Those ugly fucks were hitting us with outrageous firepower. That poor town got flattened. The apaches showed up and helped out for a while, they were a huge asset but once they had to refuel and rearm we were on our own again. The Air Force turned up. Eventually. Our F16s pulled back after taking loses once again leaving us with no air cover. We were pretty exposed as the Batarian infantry and tanks pounded us constantly. Sure we hit them back and they took pretty substantial casualties but we took more. We always took more. For every one of them killed, we would lose three of our own. Nonetheless we made them pay for every inch of ground.

Then, in our darkest hour, they arrived. Screaming through the sky I thought the flyboys were back in play until I saw how easily the Batarian ships were being blasted out the sky. These strange new aircraft resembled the Batarian fighters but they were sleeker and faster. Just who the hell were these guys?

It wasn't long before we got our answer. Larger craft started coming in and landing near our lines. It was clear they were on our side but nonetheless it was almost tempting to fire on them . After all we had been shooting at everything that was alien for nearly three weeks straight. There was a lull in the fighting as the Batarians slowed their bombardment of us and focused on whoever their new enemy was and that was when we saw them. The larger ships were in fact landing craft and they were rapidly disgorging troops and strange yet powerful looking vehicles. All the troops wore body armor that covered them head to toe, like a sleeker and shinier spacesuit. Our new "friends" launched themselves at the Batarian lines in a furious assault whilst we all just stood there gawking in shock.

"Advance," someone yelled. I can't even remember who as I was so in amazement at what I was seeing. Sure enough we all advanced towards our enemy as we moved side by side with our unknown allies. Some of our tanks moved up beside theirs to get a good look at their toys. It was a truly amazing sight to behold as American soldiers and our sudden allies launched a joint attack that nobody expected. I doubt even our new friends had any clue we were gonna join their attack. Some of their soldiers looked up and pointed as our Apache gunships returned to the battlefield refuelled and rearmed. They hovered above the joint Human -Alien force and fired off a barrage of hellfire missiles at the Batarians. That seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back as we saw the Batarians start to retreat. We cheered on the gunships as they pressed the attack against the retreating aliens.

For the first time in weeks we finally had some breathing room. Finally it was time to meet these mystery guys. We cautiously moved towards one another, weapons at the ready but not aimed.

We finally have some friends.

...

Mt Weather, Virginia, USA - Invasion + 17

The President of the United States stared at the monitor in absolute horror. One minute he had been holding a secret video conference with senior military officers, the next it had cut out and the face of an alien had appeared on screen, or rather three aliens. All different and none Batarian.

"Greetings, Mr President." The first one spoke. A distinctly feminine form and face. A remarkably beautiful alien, all things considered. The other two were not quite so appealing aesthetically.

"Who...wh..." He stammered.

"My name is Vileta Houla, commander of the Asari Commandos detachment of the Earth Expeditionary Force. I am of the Asari species, my two colleagues here are military commanders of the Salarian Union and Turian Hierarchy respectively. Since Asari are the closest in terms of physical similarities to Humans, I am taking the lead in speaking to you." The Asari said managing to look elegant and like a warrior at the same time. "I know you will have many questions no doubt so I'll get through this as quickly as I can. Our three species have formed a galactic council which fosters peaceful cooperation between the different species of our galaxy. Unfortunately the Batarians have no interest in such things. Their opening of a mass relay and subsequent unprovoked attack on your world was, as you would say, the last straw. The Batarians are a rogue state that needs to be dealt with. I apologise for hacking into your communications system, but it was the most practical way of speaking with you. Luckily we have better hackers than the Batarians. As we speak, Asari, Turian and Salarian military forces are in the early stages of combat operations to neutralise Batarian troops occupying your planet. We will be actively supporting your own soldiers in retaking their homeland throughout the coming days."

Richard stared at the screen in shock as did the other members of the National Security Council. Then they burst into a cheer. There was hope after all.

...

Admiral Kolshek felt numb. He had been angry at first. Then bitter. Now he felt numb. If he lost this war here his reputation he was working so hard to rebuild would be destroyed for good. The Chancellor would cut him off. No doubt he would explain to the Council that a rogue force acting on its own had invaded the Earth and that the Hegemony had no involvement. The council would know he was lying but wanting to avoid a full scale war with the Terminus Systems they would go along with his lies.

He sat in the Oval Office, where the American President had occupied only weeks earlier. He wanted to kill someone or something. Preferable the Council. Their ships had come through the relay with no warning and again without warning unleashed a crippling attack on the Batarian fleet orbiting Earth. Most of his ships had been destroyed or severely damaged, the rest had been boarded. Only a handful landed on the surface to avoid capture by the Council forces. They hadn't bombed his own location despite knowing full well where he was. They wanted him alive. They wanted to parade him in front of the cameras in chains to make an example.

He was deep in thought when the door to the Oval Office burst open and his assistant Shirkol strolled in without even the decency to knock. He was flanked by four armed soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this! Captain, explain yourself !"

"Admiral Kolshek, I am relieving you of your command. This has gotten out of hand." Shirkol stated. Kolshek glared at him.

"How fucking dare you ! You will stand down this instant!" Kolshek screamed. "I'll have your family raped then burned alive in front of you for this!"

"You idiot, how do you expect to defeat the Council when you can barely defeat the humans ! You are unfit to lead. Quite frankly sir, I've had enough of your varrenshit." Shirkol grinned as four Batarian soldiers surrounded the now formal leader often Earth invasion fleet and handcuffed him.

"Traitor." The deposed admiral spat in humiliation.

"You're the traitor." Shirkol fired back as he drove a fist into his former bosses face.

Thing were going to change, for everybody...


	19. Returning Home

Lasara hugged both Rick and Hazel as she prepared to board the shuttle to return to one of the Asari ships orbiting the Earth.

"Thank you both. For everything." She smiled as she shed a tear for her friends who had saved her. Lasara had managed to flag down a Turian patrol as it passed the area in search of Kolshek loyalists. Most of the Batarians had surrendered after Kolsheks arrest but a few die hards fought on.

"Keep in touch." Hazel said as she hugged her again.

"I'll add you on BookFace." Lasara said jokingly. She had been studying human culture in her short stay but she hasn't quite got the hang of everything yet.

Hazel didn't bother correcting her. Rick gave her a kiss on the cheek and then she accended the ramp for her trip back into space.

"The government's talking about taking applications for people who want to visit the Citadel." Hazel said to her boyfriend.

"I think ambassadors and diplomats would get the first option on that don't you think?" He replied with a laugh.

"Well we are the first people to contact a non Batarian alien. I think that should land us in with a shot?"

Rick thought about that "yeah, I guess you're right. Who knows maybe we could get in."

...

After deep disagreements between the United Nations and the Citadel Council on who would try Admiral Kolshek for his crimes, a compromise was reached where the International Criminal Court would try and sentence him, but the sentence would be carried out by the Council, whatever that sentence may be.

The trial only lasted two weeks. The evidence against Kolshek was overwhelming. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. Riots broke out as many people had demanded the death penalty. Days later the disgraced former Admiral was flown off world and to a Council run prison. The Batarian Hegemony had washed their hands of him, claiming he had acted on his own without the concent of the government. The council knew this was a lie but they went along with it to save them having to go to war in the Terminus Systems.

...

For the first time in many weeks, the President of the United States breathed in fresh air. The Secret Service had finally unsealed the bunker and escorted the President to his waiting motorcade for the short trip back to the White House. The street back to DC had been cleared of debris and smashed cars.

Construction crews were working round the clock for the Presidents return. The fences around the White House had all been repaired as had much of the damage to the building itself though there was still a lot of scaffolding up over the West Wing as repairs went on.

Richard returned the salute to the Marine as he entered the front doors for the first time in weeks and made his way to the Oval Office. The smell of fire and smoke from the battle that took place during the invasion still slightly lingered. He ran his fingers over the resolute desk which had despite everything, survived unscathed. He sat in the seat that Admiral Kolshek had sat in only a week earlier. He looked right ahead and spoke to the teleprompter as the cameras began to roll. It felt good to address the American people from the Oval Office rather than a bunker.

"My fellow Americans, my fellow Humans. Once again I address you from the White House. Finally, after these many weeks of suffering, we have victory. Admiral Kolshek is in prison where he belongs and we have won back something irreplaceable : Our planet. Our home. Today we all extend our thanks to the men and women who took up arms to fight the invaders and who made the ultimate sacrifice. We remember those who fell in combat but also those civilians whom were so callously murdered or enslaved . We also extend our thanks to the species of the Citadel Council , who's aid in our darkest hour proved indispensable to our ultimate victory. Negotiations are now underway for the opening of diplomatic relations with the wider galaxy. Likewise the nations of Earth are now negotiating on ways to foster a much deeper and meaningful form of cooperation between nations that may eventually lead to a unified humanity in the long term. There is much work to be done. There are roads to be cleared, homes to be rebuilt, businesses to be repaired and people to be healed. We will get there. With hard work and perseverance we will succeed like we always do. So, let's get to work. God bless you all."


End file.
